Hesam7: <iron maiden> That might be true for Zurich 1953 or the rematch with Alekhine. In the 1948 WC tournament he had a bad start and a bad finish: 0/4, 1.5/4, 1.5/4 and 1/4 seem to be his results in rounds 1 to 4. It is noteworthy that the Groningen field was not small if I am not mistaken it consisted from 20 players.

Hesam7: <iron maiden: Those who knew Euwe also claimed that he played much better in a low-pressure situation. This may explain his victory against Alekhine in 1935, when everyone was expecting him to lose.> That may be right in general. But did anyone expect the 47 year old Euwe to win the 1948 WC? I do not know who the favorites were before the tournament started.

Hesam7: <iron maiden> Yes, you are right. Keres won the AVRO 1938 and Botvinnik was a major star in 30s (Joint first at Nottingham 1936 and Moscow 1935 and second behind Capablanca in Moscow 1936) He also won the first big tournament after WWII: Groningen 1946.

ughaibu: Somebody has to lose in a tournament and the stronger the tournament is the stronger the losers will be. 1948 was unremitingly strong so Euwe's performance isn't necessarily bad, it doesn't show him to be less than the world's 5th strongest player.

Hesam7: <ughaibu: 1948 was unremitingly strong so Euwe's performance isn't necessarily bad, it doesn't show him to be less than the world's 5th strongest player.> I shall disagree. IMO Najdorf or Fine for example would have had better results than Euwe's 20%. To finish 5th in that field is not that bad, but the way he did 6.5 pts behind the 4th player was no good.

Gypsy: < IMO Najdorf or Fine for example would have had better results than Euwe's 20%.> Also Bronstein, Boleslavski, possibly Eliskases... But the FIDE agreements to use Groningen and Prague as candidate qualifying tournaments was sabotaged at the end. Najdorf won the Treybal memorial in Prague, but that was to no avail. Bronstein was invited to Prague, but the entire 5-player deep soviet delegation first accepted but then rescinded their invitation. Also withdrawing were Reshewski, Fine and Euwe who did not need to qualify, but whose presence would have validated Najdorf's claim to a place in the 1948 WC tournament.

ughaibu: Hesam7: are you agreeing or disagreeing? Does "no good" mean, worse than you'd expect from Euwe? or does it mean, too bad for a player to be included in such a select tournament? or does it mean something different?

Gypsy: As I ponder various solutions to the vacant WC slot after Alekhine's death, the less and less sense -- as regards fairness and upholding tradition -- the 'repeat of AVRO', Hague-Moscow 1948, tournament makes to me.

Tratition, codified by Steinitz, demands that (1) the WC title is decided by a match. If at all possible, (2) new WC should wrestle the title from the previous title holder. In addition, (3) some tournaments (NY'27, AVRO'38) have been put forth as means to earn the right to challenge for the WC title.

All in all, three players had strong claims to either the WC or top challenger positions after the War: (i) Euwe by defeating Alekhine in 1935; (ii) Keres by winnig AVRO; and (iii) Fine, by tying Keres in AVRO on points.

In addition, (iv), there were several new, non-AVRO players whose results since AVRO, have given them strong rights to enter the candidate mix: Smyslov, Bronstein, Boleslavski, Najdorf, Eliskases, Stahlberg, Szabo,...

Now, any way I look at it, I get this: Hague-Moscow'48 was a replay of AVRO, because (I) AVRO did not produce the right winner(s) on one hand, but (II) opening the candidacy process to all worthy parties was viewed dangerous to some vested interrest(s) on the other hand. The swith of Smyslov for Flohr (III) was then grafted on, after the principal agreements were all cemented in.

To me, reasons (I) and (II) -- to put it bluntly -- stink. Here are three simpler and much more preferable solutions:

1. Title reverts to Euwe and he plays Keres, the AVRO winner. (Euwe gets the usual draw odds. The defeated player immediately qualifies for the Candidate tournament of 1950.)

3. Title remains open and top two finishers of the next candidate cycle play a match for the vacant title. (All AVRO guys automatically qualify for the Candidate tournament. Draw adds go to the tounament winner.)

<After Max Euwe sacrificed a knight to Alexander Alekhine at the Zurich tournament in 1934, the world champion took off his jacket. "If you had sacrificed a queen, he would probably have taken off his trousers, too.", Paul Keres remarked.>

NOTE: You need to pick a username and password to post a reply.
Getting your account takes less than a minute, totally anonymous,
and 100% free--plus, it
entitles you to features otherwise unavailable.
Pick your username now and join the chessgames community!
If you already have an account, you should
login now.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.

No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.

No personal attacks against other members.

Nothing in violation of United States law.

No posting personal information of members.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform an administrator.

NOTE: Keep all discussion on the topic of this page.
This forum is for this specific game and nothing else. If you want to discuss chess in general, or
this site, you might try the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages
posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.